Running a physical therapy center is hard enough, but marketing it properly to improve your client base can be a nightmare. The problem is that most doctors and managers aren’t trained to be marketers, but they take on the task anyway to save money. These are some of the worst pitfalls that most physical therapy centers encounter.
Highlighting Yourself
One problem that many amateur marketers experience is that they highlight themselves instead of how they can help clients. This can happen in both obvious and subtle ways. An obvious way is that you talk about your training and nothing else. A subtle way is just talking about how the center can help people, or how the center offers the best care.
It’s better to make marketing statements directed towards the client. For example, “Our rehab center can eliminate your back pain for good.” Making the client the subject of the marketing shows that you are offering them a valuable service, and it also shows that you care about them and their concerns.
Exclusively Targeting Potential Clients
Marketing is supposed to bring in new clients, but that’s not all it should do. It’s much easier and cheaper to keep existing clients, but failing to market towards them can result in them leaving for other practices. Tell them about your other services, ask them to refer you to friends and family members and give them special deals so that they come back for another appointment.
Ignoring the Website
Every business needs a website. If you don’t have one, then you’re making a big mistake. A basic website will tell people your contact information, hours and major services. You can also use your website to write blog posts and entice new clients to make appointments.
The problem is that many centers don’t see the value of a website. They’ll make one, but then they won’t update it for years and they won’t perform any SEO. Your website should be updated every few months, and it needs to be consistently marketed to get more visitors.
Ignoring the Competition
Unless you are located in the middle of nowhere, chances are that you have competition in the area. Every rehab center in the vicinity is vying for every potential client, and you have to do your best to claim them before the competition does. This means understanding your competition so that you can show how much better your practice is, and it also means keeping tabs on their activity.
Watch their website and see what they are doing. You’ll be able to defend yourself against any of their moves, and you might get some good ideas for your own practice. For example, you can run similar deals or talk about similar subjects.
Conclusion
Marketing a physical rehab center can be very daunting, but it becomes much easier when you understand the most common problems. Just be sure to think of the client and constantly try to reach both new and existing clients to make your practice successful.